Which turn back to Genesis 19. I have entitled the message for
this morning, Things God Cannot Do. Things God Cannot Do. Now let me remind you that the
Bible claims to be the inspired word of God. All scripture is
given by inspiration of God. And it's important for us to
realize that we're not giving men's opinions. God revealed
everything in this book. according to his will, for his
glory, to teach his gospel. And this story before us is a
glorious gospel story. Now look once again at verse
22 where God says to Lot, haste thee, escape thither. For I cannot do anything till
you are out of here. God says, I cannot destroy this
place. He's speaking through the angels.
I can't send my fire down until you are out of here. I cannot do this until you are
out of here. Things God cannot do. Now let's remember what was going
on, God had sent the angels to see if the cry of Sodom was indeed
what he had heard, which is just a way of speaking to us, it was. And Lot was going to be delivered. We read in verse 16, after Lot
had been warned about escaping Sodom and Gomorrah, and while
he lingered. He was reluctant to leave Sodom.
He lingered. In spite of these warnings, he
lingered. The men laid hold upon his hand,
and upon the hand of his wife, and upon the hand of his two
daughters, the Lord being merciful unto him. And they brought him
forth and set him without the city. And it came to pass when
they had brought them forth abroad that he said, this is the Lord
speaking through these men to Lot, escape for thy life, look
not behind thee, neither stay thou in all the plain, escape
to the mountain lest thou be consumed. And look at Lot's response. After God says escape, what does
Lot say? Now remember, he'd already been
grabbed by the hand and brought out of the city. And now he's
brought out of the city. God says, run. And what does
he do? Verse 18. And Lot said unto them,
oh, not so, my Lord. Not so, my Lord. Lot is remaining true to his
character. Verse 19, behold thou, Thy servant hath found grace
in thy sight, and thou hast magnified thy mercy, which thou hast shown
unto me in saving my life. Now look what he says. I cannot
escape to the mountain, lest some evil take me and I die.
Now wait a minute, Lot. The Lord has just taken you by
the hand and your family and brought you out of Sodom. Can't
he enable you to escape to the mountain? Of course he could. Of course he could. But Lot remains
true to his character. I can't escape to the mountain. Lest some evil take me and I
die. Behold, verse 20. Behold, now
this city is near to flee to. I don't wanna go to the mountains.
It's a little one. Oh, let me escape thither. Is
it not a little one and my soul shall live? Now, is there anything
right about Lot's request? No. Lord said, escape to the
mountains. But he says, let me go to this
little city. Is there anything right about
this? No. Is there anything right about
Lot as he was in and of himself? No. If you want to get a good
look at Lot, Look in the mirror. Look in the mirror. If you want
to see what he really looks like, look in the mirror. That's who
I see when I look at myself in the mirror. Lot. You know I'm thankful for Lot.
The Lord gives us this story of Lot. to teach us just how
much salvation really is all of grace. We see this in this
man, Lot. Everything he did was wrong. And yet he belongs to the Lord
and the Lord saved him. And the Lord gives us this story
of Lot to teach us his gospel. Now, Verse 21, and he said unto
him, see, I have accepted thee concerning this thing also that
I will not overthrow this city for which thou hast spoken. Now
that word accepted does not mean I'm accepting wrong behavior. This is the word that is generally
translated, I've forgiven thee. I've forgiven thee, not I've
accepted your wrong behavior. but I have forgiven you concerning
this thing also. And I'll not overthrow this city
for which thou has spoken. He was gonna let Lot go ahead
and flee to this small city. He says in verse 20, hasty, escape
thither for I cannot do anything till you're out of here. Now
think of what he said. I cannot bring the fire of God's
wrath down while you're here. I cannot do anything until you
are out. Now, let me repeat the title,
things that God cannot do. Now that is kind of a strange
thing to even say as far as things God can't do. I thought God can
do anything. He's God, isn't he? Well, look in Genesis chapter
18, verse 13. This is after the Lord had said
that Sarah would have a child even after she'd gone through
menopause. And the Lord said unto Abraham, Wherefore did Sarah
laugh, saying, Shall I of a surety be of a child which am old? Is
anything too hard for the Lord? Is anything beyond his power?
You know, he has omnipotence. Is anything too hard for the
Lord? What's the answer to that question?
He can do anything. that is not contrary to His nature. Now that's very important. God
can do anything that is not contrary to His nature. He has no lack
of power. He can do anything. He's omnipotent. Whatever he wills, he's got the
power for that to come to pass. That's who God is. Anything less
than that is no God at all. This is who God is. He's all
powerful. Nothing's too hard for him. But he cannot do anything
that is contrary to his nature. He cannot do anything that would
violate any of his attributes. He can't save a sinner in a way
that would contradict his justice or violate any of his attributes. He can't save a sinner at the
expense of his justice. Now look, stay there in Genesis
chapter 18, look in verse 23. This is after Abraham finds out
that God is going to destroy Sodom. And remember Lot was there,
his nephew, and he wanted the best for Lot. And look what he
says to God in verse 23. And Abraham drew near and said,
will thou also destroy the righteous with the wicked? Perventure there
be 50 righteous within the city. Will thou also destroy and not
spare the place for the 50 righteous that are therein? That be far
from thee to do after this manner, to slay the righteous with the
wicked, that the righteous should be as the wicked. That be far
from thee shall not the judge of the earth do right. While there's nothing that's
too hard for the Lord, there's still things that he cannot do. Now we read in the scripture
of God who cannot lie. It's impossible for God to lie. Isn't that wonderful? God can't
be deceitful. God can't lie. It's against his
nature. He's holy. God cannot lie. God cannot sin. He's holy. If he could sin, he
would be mutable. He could change. God cannot sin. The scripture points that out
about him. Holiness is the inability to sin. God cannot be evil. God the Son cannot sin. You know, people present the
Lord as when he was in the wilderness being tempted by the devil, and
the devil was tempting him to do these things, and they almost
presented as if he could have given in to the devil's temptations.
No, he couldn't. He can't sin. He cannot see,
and I've heard people say, well, how could he be tempted then
if he couldn't see Him? Well, he couldn't see Him. That's
all I know to say about it. He couldn't see Him. That's really
the same line the devil used with our first parents in the
garden. There's no virtue in your obedience because you're
just following your nature. But God is going, if you eat
the fruit, you'll have a free will, and you'll be able to choose
the good over the evil, and that's what will make you good, because
you'll choose the good over the evil. That's the line the devil
used with our first parents. Doesn't work that way. God cannot
sin. God the Holy Spirit cannot sin. That which he gives birth
to cannot sin. You know, if you're a believer,
you've been given a new nature, a holy nature, that cannot sin. Let me read you a scripture from
1 John 3, verse nine. It says, whosoever is born of
God doth not commit sin, for his seed remaineth in him, and
he cannot sin, because he's born of God. Now, do you hear that? That which is born of God lacks
the ability to sin. Now somebody says, well, I sin.
Yeah, I know you do. But that which is born of God
does not commit sin. And really, if you see yourself
as sinful, truly sinful, I'm not just saying I do bad things
and make mistakes every now and then, but if you see yourself
as someone who's truly sinful, full of sin, that's all you see,
that's because you've been born of God. Only that which is holy
can see that. God cannot sin. God cannot not be who and what
he is. He said, I am that I am. God cannot be sovereign. Now,
what what has been by the sovereignty of God means God controls everything. He's the first cause behind everything. That's what God's sovereignty
means. It means he reigns. It means the things that are
going through your mind right now, he's in control of. Somebody says, well, what if
I'm thinking evil thoughts? Whatever the case, God who is
holy is in control of everything, and he's in control of you. You're in his hands. That's what
God's sovereignty means. He cannot not be absolutely sovereign. Now, I heard a preacher make
this statement. He said the one time God decided to quit being
sovereign is when Christ was nailed to the cross. At that
time, God let men do what they wanted to do, and he quit being
sovereign just for that time. No. Can't support that from the
scriptures. As a matter of fact, that's blasphemous.
God's sovereignty was never seen more clearly than on the cross. Him being delivered by the determinate
counsel and foreknowledge of God, you have taken and with
wicked hands have crucified and slain. God's sovereignty was
so resplendent when he caused his son to be nailed to a cross
as the sin bearer for his people. God never abdicates his throne. God is always sovereign. God can't change. Malachi 3.6
says, I am the Lord, I change not. It said of the Lord Jesus
Christ, Jesus Christ the same yesterday, today, and forever. God's will cannot be thwarted.
Remember, we're talking about things God can't do. His will
cannot not be done. His will can't be thwarted. He
said, I have purposed it. I also will do it. God cannot be unjust. He lacks
the whatever it is that makes people unjust. He cannot be unjust. Proverbs 17, 15 says, he that
justifies the wicked and he that condemns the just, they both
are alike and abomination to God. Now listen to this in light
of that, God cannot clear the guilty. He said, I'll by no means
clear the guilty. God's just. If you are guilty,
he will not clear you. And God can't condemn the innocent. He's absolutely just. And the
only way we can understand that is the cross of the Lord Jesus
Christ. That's how it is. You see, when Christ died, it
wasn't the innocent dying. It was the guilty. The sins of
God's elect became his sins, and he became guilty of those
sins, and that's why God killed him. And when I'm set free, it's
because I'm innocent. My sins have been put away by
what Christ did, and I am now innocent. Called substitution. You know,
when his enemies said in derision, he saved others, himself he cannot
save. Truer words have never been spoken. For mere you to be saved, he
could not save himself. You know, one said, I cannot
curse whom God has blessed. And if God's blessed you, do
you know you cannot be cursed? There is therefore now no condemnation
to them that are in Christ Jesus. He said in Isaiah 45 and in Isaiah
50, is my arm shortened that it cannot save? No, there's never
a time when he is unable to save. You know, we're even warned in
Isaiah 45, 20 of those who pray into a God who cannot save. It
says they have no knowledge to pray into a God who cannot save. Now, a God that cannot save unless
I do something to enable him to save me is a non-existent
God. A God that cannot save, that
very idea denies every attribute of God. A God that cannot save
is a non-existent God. It's the figment of man's imagination. It's an idol. While the blood of bulls and
goats can never take away sin, the blood of the God-man does. He was manifested to take away
our sin, and him is no sin. Now, think of this, and I'm gonna
get back to Lot in just a minute, but I'm trying to talk about
what God cannot do. Do you remember when the Lord
was praying in Gethsemane's garden? Father, if it be possible, Let this cup pass from me. Now what was in that cup? The
sins of God's elect. The sins I have committed. The uncleanness that I have committed. My sins. They were placed in
that cup, and when Christ looked at that cup, the Holy Son of
God the thought of drinking in those sins into his own body
on the tree of being made sin. He said, if it be possible, if
it be possible, let this cup pass from me. Was it possible? No. You see, Christ is called
the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. And it was not
possible for that cup to pass away from him. And he went on
to say, the cup which my father has given me to drink, shall
I not drink it? And he did. That's how my sin
became his sin. He drank that cup. And he bare
our sins in his own body on the tree. He was delivered for our
offenses and raised again for our justification. They became
His sins. Now, look to Acts chapter two.
We looked at this in Sunday school. Remember, we're talking about
things that are impossible. Acts chapter two. Verse 23, Him, being delivered
by the determinant counsel and foreknowledge of God you have
taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain, whom God
hath raised up, having loosed the pains of death, because it
was not possible that he should be holden of it." It was not
things that are impossible, things God can't do. It was not possible
for Christ to stay dead. because he completely put away
the sins of everybody he died for. Now, I love, I don't, I
don't want to say I love thinking of his, I don't like thinking
of hell, but hell is eternal because satisfaction could never
be made for the murder of the son of God. If you ever wonder,
why is hell eternal? Why can't God just go ahead and
make it to where it's not eternal? Why can't he just annihilate?
Why can't he just make it to where we're not? Seems like that
would be a easier thing to do. The reason hell is eternal, because
satisfaction can never be made for the murder of the Son of
God. There can never be a time when
you said, well, it's okay now. It's okay now. But when Christ
died, That sin was put away so that God is actually satisfied
and Christ couldn't stay dead because God was satisfied with
what he did. And he's satisfied with everybody
he did it for. I think of this scripture without
faith, it is impossible to please God. Listen to this. If you have faith, it's impossible
to not please him. What is faith? Faith is believing
that Jesus Christ is the son of God and believing that he
is all you need to make you acceptable. You don't need your works. You
don't need your effort. He is salvation. And if I believe God,
it's impossible for him to be anything but pleased with me,
actually pleased with me. not just tolerating me, but looking
at me and saying, I'm pleased with that person. There's no
sin in there. Second, Timothy two 13 says,
if we believe not, he abided faithful. He cannot deny himself.
Now what's all that about what God cannot do. If we believe
not, he abided faithful. He cannot deny himself. What,
what's that mean? This will give us some light
in Ephesians chapter five, turn with me there. Look in verse 31. For this cause
shall a man leave his father and mother and shall be joined
unto his wife and they too shall be one flesh. This is a great
mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the church. Christ
is one with his church. Now, look in verse 27 of this
same chapter, that he might present it to himself a glorious church,
not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that it should
be holy and without blemish. So ought men to love their wives
as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife, loveth
himself. And when Christ loved his wife,
when he loved his church, when he loved his bride, He was loving
himself. That is how real this union between
Christ and the believer is. He was loving himself and he
can't deny himself. If he would deny me, he would
be denying himself. And that cannot be. Now, Lot had to be delivered
because he was one with Christ. And Christ Jesus cannot deny
himself. Now, Brother Lott, Brother Lott,
I'm so thankful for this man, and the Holy Spirit has given
us the record of this man to teach us the gospel. Brother
Lott, you couldn't really say anything positive about him as
far as his personal integrity with the gospel was. He did leave
Sodom and not look back, and that was by the grace of God,
but it seems like everything he did was wrong, doesn't it?
You know, his name means covering, and I can see why his name means
that. Yes, he was a righteous man. He was a believer. Let me verify
that with the scripture. Turn to 2 Peter 2. This is talking
about the overthrowing of Sodom and Gomorrah, verse 6. and turning
the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes, condemned them with
an overthrow, making them an example unto those that should
afterwards live ungodly, and delivered just Lot, vexed with
the filthy conversation of the wicked, for that righteous man
dwelling among them, in seeing and hearing, vexed his righteous
soul from day to day with their unlawful deeds." Now that's God's
testimony of Lot. Righteous man with a righteous
soul. And yet you look at his conduct,
and preachers love to pile on Lot. Look how inconsistent he
was. Look how contradictory he was.
Look how sinful he was. Look how weak he was. Look at
all the problems he got himself into. It's all true. But Lot is given to teach me
and you. how much salvation is by grace. How Christ is all in salvation. There's one reason Lot is called
righteous Lot. It's because his sins were put
away by Christ and the very righteousness of Christ is given to him so
that he is righteous Lot. God could not torch Sodom as
long as Lot was there. Didn't say he wouldn't. It says
he couldn't. We can't do anything until you're
out of here. Why? Because of the justice of God.
Because of the purpose of God. He was God's purpose to save
Lot. Lot was a righteous man. God could not destroy the righteous
with the wicked. That's why Lot was saved. Now, Lot The angel said, I can't
torch this city until you're out of here, until you're delivered. And that is said of every single
believer without exception. You see, Lot was chosen before
time began by God to be holy and without blame. Ephesians
1.4, you can look this up if you want, but I'll quote it to
you. According as He hath chosen us in Him before the foundation
of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before
Him. Isn't that what righteousness
is? It's to be holy and without blame. Lot and every other believer
was chosen in Christ in eternal election before time began to
be saved. And Lot can't be torched. God
cannot act contrary to his will or his purpose or his justice. Now on Mount Calvary, which was
symbolized by the mountain Lot was told to escape to, All of Lot's sins were put away
on Galilee Street. When Jesus Christ said, it is
finished, when he bowed his mighty head and said, it is finished,
all of Lot's sins were blotted out. Believer, when Jesus Christ said,
it is finished, all of your sins were blotted out. They are no
more. God must save you because you
have no sin. You are perfectly righteous in
God's sight by virtue of what Christ did for you. That's the
reason Lot cannot be condemned with the rest of Sodom because
he had no sin. He had perfect righteousness. There's nothing to condemn him
for. Listen to this scripture from Hebrews chapter 10, verse
14, by one offering, talking about his death on Calvary's
tree, by one offering, he hath perfected forever them that are
sanctified. Now, because God elected Lot,
because Christ died for Lot, Lot was born of the Spirit and
given a righteous nature. We were just reading about it
in 2 Peter chapter 2. Now, why can't Lot be torched? Because Lot was a righteous man. And his righteousness had absolutely
nothing to do with his conduct. His righteousness was the righteousness
of Jesus Christ. His sin was put away by Christ. Lot is given to teach us the
gospel. Lot could not be punished because
his sin had been put away and the justice of God could not
allow him to be punished for that sin. You see, God cannot
punish the same sin twice, can he? He can't do it. He would be unjust
if he punished your sin in Christ and then turned around and punished
you for it if you're in Christ. That would be unjust on God's
part. God cannot, cannot. cannot act contrary to his justice. He can't send somebody to hell
that he chose, that Christ died for and God the Holy Spirit gave
life to. That's why the angel said, we
can't do anything until you're out of here. Aren't you thankful for that?
Now in this man lot, we're taught how God saves sinners by his
grace. And listen to this. If you believe, and let me use
that word if. If you don't believe, all that
manifests is that God hasn't done anything for you. But if
you believe the gospel, if you rely on Jesus Christ as all you
need to make you perfectly accepted before God, you're gonna have
the same end as Lot. Complete glorification, heaven,
likeness to Christ, eternity in his presence. Now there are things God cannot
do, and I wouldn't, I want to say that in utter reverence.
There's nothing beyond God's power. He's omnipotent, but he
can't act contrary to who he is. And that's why Lot had to
be saved. God purposed his salvation. Christ
purchased his salvation. God the Holy Spirit gave him
life. His sins were put away. He had
perfect righteousness. He had to be saved because of
the character of God Almighty. Thank God there are things he
cannot do. Let's pray. Lord, we ask in the high and
holy name of your son that we might be found in him, that we
might be saved the way Lot was saved by your grace, by your
righteousness, by our sin being put away by what Christ did for
us. Lord, how we thank you that you
cannot be contrary in any way to who you are. Now, Lord, we
ask in Christ's name that you take your word and bless it according
to your will and work saving faith in each heart here according
to your will. Bless us for Christ's sake. In
his name we pray. Amen.